An empirical investigation of individual and team contests

This thesis presents an empirical investigation of individual and team contests using both lab experiments and field data. The thesis is comprised of five chap- ters. Chapter 1 introduces the overarching theme of this thesis and the common methodological tool, which is a novel real effort task used in the lab experiments. Chapter 2 discusses this real effort task in more detail and shows its usefulness in studying behavioural responses to incentives by presenting a series of experiments, including individual production with piece-rate incentives, team production, gift exchange, and tournament, using the task. All of the results are closely in line with theoretical predictions and, where applicable, the stylised facts from experiments using purely induced values. Chapter 3 experimentally examines the role of interpersonal comparisons in an individual contest. The experiment follows Gill and Prowse (2012) and is designed to investigate the source of disappointment aversion, that is, whether it is purely an asocial concept, akin to loss aversion, or fuelled by interpersonal comparisons. The new evidence however rejects predictions of the disappointment aversion model, both when interpersonal comparisons are possible and when they are not. Chapter 4 empirically examines strategic behaviour of contestants in a dynamic “best-of-three” team contest. I find evidence of “strategic neutrality” in both field data from high-stakes professional squash team tournaments and lab data from an experiment: the outcomes of previous battles do not affect the current battle. The lab data however reveal that the neutrality prediction does not perfectly hold at the level of individual efforts. Chapter 5 concludes the thesis by summarising all findings in previous chapters, discussing the limitations, and pointing to directions for future research

An empirical investigation of individual and team contests

This thesis presents an empirical investigation of individual and team contests using both lab experiments and field data. The thesis is comprised of five chap- ters. Chapter 1 introduces the overarching theme of this thesis and the common methodological tool, which is a novel real effort task used in the lab experiments. Chapter 2 discusses this real effort task in more detail and shows its usefulness in studying behavioural responses to incentives by presenting a series of experiments, including individual production with piece-rate incentives, team production, gift exchange, and tournament, using the task. All of the results are closely in line with theoretical predictions and, where applicable, the stylised facts from experiments using purely induced values. Chapter 3 experimentally examines the role of interpersonal comparisons in an individual contest. The experiment follows Gill and Prowse (2012) and is designed to investigate the source of disappointment aversion, that is, whether it is purely an asocial concept, akin to loss aversion, or fuelled by interpersonal comparisons. The new evidence however rejects predictions of the disappointment aversion model, both when interpersonal comparisons are possible and when they are not. Chapter 4 empirically examines strategic behaviour of contestants in a dynamic “best-of-three” team contest. I find evidence of “strategic neutrality” in both field data from high-stakes professional squash team tournaments and lab data from an experiment: the outcomes of previous battles do not affect the current battle. The lab data however reveal that the neutrality prediction does not perfectly hold at the level of individual efforts. Chapter 5 concludes the thesis by summarising all findings in previous chapters, discussing the limitations, and pointing to directions for future research

Overview of distinct 8-oxoguanine profiles of messenger RNA in normal and senescent cancer cells

BackgroundCellular senescence plays a key role in the development of cancer, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Recently, several recent studies have shown that RNA methylation is closely related to cancer cell aging. 8-Oxoguanine (o8G) is an important and widely distributed methylation modification whose role in cancer cell senescence is far from elucidated.MethodsIn this study, senescent cancer cell models (CaCO2 cells) were constructed by knocking down the ADAR1 gene. RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing was used to identify the o8G peaks on messenger RNA (mRNA) of normal CaCO2 cells and senescent CaCO2 cells, and the distribution characteristics of mRNA o8G modification were identified. Further bioinformatics analysis of the sequencing data was performed to preliminarily elucidate the potential function of the o8G-modified mRNA.ResultsThere were significant differences in mRNA o8G modification distribution between normal and senescent CaCO2 cells. It is suggested that o8G modification may play a key role in inducing cancer cells or promoting cancer cell senescence. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis showed that the mRNAs modified by o8G were enriched in Cellular component organization or biogenesis, Focal adhesion, and RNA binding. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that the genes modified by o8G are concentrated in Focal adhesion signaling pathway, Small cell lung cancer signaling pathway and Proteoglycans in cancer signaling pathway.ConclusionThis study preliminarily revealed the different distribution patterns of o8G modification between normal CaCO2 cells and senescent CaCO2 cells. Our study established the link between o8G modification and cancer cell senescence, which provides a new insight into the mechanism of cancer cell senescence and a potential therapeutic target for subsequent cancer treatment

Combining ‘‘real effort’’ with induced effort costs: the ball-catching task

We introduce the “ball-catching task”, a novel computerized task, which combines a tangible action (“catching balls”) with induced material cost of effort. The central feature of the ball-catching task is that it allows researchers to manipulate the cost of effort function as well as the production function, which permits quantitative predictions on effort provision. In an experiment with piece-rate incentives we find that the comparative static and the point predictions on effort provision are remarkably accurate. We also present experimental findings from three classic experiments, namely, team production, gift exchange and tournament, using the task. All of the results are closely in line with the stylized facts from experiments using purely induced values. We conclude that the ball-catching task combines the advantages of real effort tasks with the use of induced values, which is useful for theory-testing purposes as well as for applications

A review of the progress in machine vision-based crack detection and identification technology for asphalt pavements

With the aging of transportation infrastructure and the increasing frequency of use, the detection and identification of cracks in asphalt pavements are crucial for ensuring road safety and maintenance efficiency. Traditional manual inspection methods are not only inefficient and limited in accuracy but also susceptible to subjective factors and environmental conditions. In contrast, machine vision-based crack detection technology enhances the efficiency and reliability of detection through automated image acquisition and analysis processes. This article reviews the latest advancements in machine vision-based crack detection technology for asphalt pavements, with a particular focus on the applications of digital image processing and deep learning. Although image processing-based methods perform well in detecting cracks against simple backgrounds, they exhibit poor robustness under complex lighting and background conditions. On the other hand, deep learning-based methods, while effectively handling complex image data, rely on large amounts of annotated data and significant computational resources. Through critical analysis, the article evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of existing technologies and looks forward to future research directions that integrate multiple sensing data and automated data annotation tools, aiming to further advance and innovate road maintenance technology

Urban Multi-scale Environmental Predictor - an extensive tool for climate services in urban areas

The city based climate service tool UMEP (Urban Multi-scale Environmental Predictor) is a coupled modelling system that combines models essential for urban climate processes and is developed as an extensive QGIS plugin. An application is presented to illustrate its potential, specifically of the identification of heat waves and cold waves in cities. The tool has broad utility for applications related to outdoor thermal comfort, urban energy consumption, climate change mitigation etc. It includes tools to: enable users to input atmospheric and surface data from multiple sources, prepare meteorological data for use in urban areas, undertake simulations and consider scenarios, and compare and visualize different combinations of climate indicators

Urban Multi-scale Environmental Predictor (UMEP) : An integrated tool for city-based climate services

UMEP (Urban Multi-scale Environmental Predictor), a city-based climate service tool, combines models and tools essential for climate simulations. Applications are presented to illustrate UMEP's potential in the identification of heat waves and cold waves; the impact of green infrastructure on runoff; the effects of buildings on human thermal stress; solar energy production; and the impact of human activities on heat emissions. UMEP has broad utility for applications related to outdoor thermal comfort, wind, urban energy consumption and climate change mitigation. It includes tools to enable users to input atmospheric and surface data from multiple sources, to characterise the urban environment, to prepare meteorological data for use in cities, to undertake simulations and consider scenarios, and to compare and visualise different combinations of climate indicators. An open-source tool, UMEP is designed to be easily updated as new data and tools are developed, and to be accessible to researchers, decision-makers and practitioners. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

Wrinkle-Enabled Highly Stretchable Strain Sensors for Wide-Range Health Monitoring with a Big Data Cloud Platform

Flexible and stretchable strain sensors are vital for emerging fields of wearable and personal electronics, but it is a huge challenge for them to possess both wide-range measurement capability and good sensitivity. In this study, a highly stretchable strain sensor with a wide strain range and a good sensitivity is fabricated based on smart composites of carbon black (CB)/wrinkled Ecoflex. The sensor exhibits a maximum recoverable strain of up to 500% and a high gauge factor of 67.7. It has a low hysteresis, a fast signal response (as short as 120 ms), and a high reproducibility (up to 5000 cycles with a strain of 150%). The sensor is capable of detecting and capturing wide-range human activities, from speech recognition and pulse monitoring to vigorous motions. It is also applicable for real-time monitoring of robot movements and vehicle security crash in an anthropomorphic field. More importantly, the sensor is successfully used to send signals of a volunteer’s breathing data to a local hospital in real time through a big data cloud platform. This research provides the feasibility of using a strain sensor for wearable Internet of things and demonstrates its exciting prospect for healthcare applications